Grassroots Farm is owned and operated by Farmer Lindsey Morris Carpenter and her mother Gail. Lindsey does the crop planning, operates equipment, manages the workforce, improves the farm infrastructure, keeps up with daily livestock chores, and delivers product to the eager customer, to name a few. Gail is the handy-woman weekend warrior, manager of finances, designer and manager of the orchard.

After five years of internship, apprenticeship, and eventually farm management on several farms located in south central Wisconsin, a northern suburb of Chicago, and an urban farm on the south side of Chicago, Lindsey was finally ready to start an operation of her own. With the help and support of lifelong gardener, teacher, and mother Gail, they acquired the land which would start its evolution, in the late summer of 2007, as Grassroots Farm.

Lindsey started off her early adulthood pursuing an education in studio Fine Arts. She attended two private colleges in Philadephia, PA before deciding there was a different path waiting for her. She moved back to the Midwest and “stumbled” into a summer farm job in Stoughton, WI. There she fell in love with daily life as an organic vegetable farmer, the rhythm of the season, and the endless supply of fresh veggies.

Grassroots Farm wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of our family, friends and neighbors. A special thanks to Lindsey’s Aunt for her continued encouragement and support.

Check out Part 1, below, of our 2011 winning video response for Family Farm Defender’s John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize. Part 2 can be viewed on our “About Our Farm“ web page.